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Patrick Bond Discusses NEPAD and CAR in Relation to the BRICS Conference

Patrick Bond has written a series of columns for Pambazuka News about the recent BRICS conference which was held in Durban.

In this article Bond looks at how The New Partnership for Africa’s Development attempted to position South Africa as ‘a gateway for investment on the continent’ in relation to it’s fellow BRICS member countries:

Amongst Pretoria’s main objectives at the Brics summit in Durban, according to deputy foreign minister Marius Fransman, is to serve as ‘a gateway for investment on the continent, and over the next 10 years the African continent will need $480 billion for infrastructure development.’

Bond writes that the Durban summit was a good time for BRICS to address its member countries’ high levels of emissions of greenhouse gases:

As they met in Durban on March 26-27, leaders of the BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – must own up: they have been emitting prolific levels of greenhouse gases, far higher than the US or the EU in absolute terms and as a ratio of GDP (though less per person). How they address this crisis could make the difference between life and death for hundreds of millions of people this century.

Bond and Khadija Sharife looked at South Africa’s role in BRICS in relation to the country’s military involvement in the Central African Republic:

The reach of the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) leaders was palpable this week, not just here in Durban where they gathered on Tuesday and Wednesday to plan investments and infrastructure, but everywhere up continent where extraction does extreme damage.